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The Giacomo Puccini opera playing on the stereo set an appropriately somber mood in the Bengals locker room yesterday. The preseason passion and optimism have faded. The offseason, and the opportunity it presents, is two weeks away. Currently, there is disappointment. The offense has been inconsistent and the defense easily deflated. There have been ill-timed penalties, costly turnovers and draft talk in December. In more ways than one -- and in the one way that matters most -- the 2007 Bengals resemble one of the pre-Marvin Lewis versions. They might not deserve to be called "Bungles," but neither will they be called winners. They are assured of finishing with a losing record for the first time since 2002. While the Cleveland Browns come to town Sunday with a chance to clinch a playoff berth, the Bengals will be playing mostly for pride and personal gain. It is an uneven source of inspiration.
"You have to be motivated to win the football game," Lewis said. "The things (the Browns) have going on is their deal. The big thing is just that we want to win the football game." Lewis gave his players a day off Sunday after the loss in San Francisco on Saturday and the overnight flight home, and they had a typically short Monday. Paul Brown Stadium cleared out quickly. (That explains the opera music. Linebacker Dhani Jones has unusual tastes for a football player, but there were few teammates around to object to his selection.) A once-potent offense has been held to one touchdown or none in five of the past eight games, and the frustration is growing. Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said he has sensed players pressing, trying so hard to make a big play that they operate outside the system.Lewis alluded to the same thing Saturday. The Bengals rank third in the NFL in first downs and seventh in yards per game but only 13th in points per game. They drove into the red zone twice against the 49ers but had to settle for a field goal each time. "We had one errant throw. We had one route that wasn't as good as we needed. We had some protections where our QB felt pressured," Lewis said. "It's like that all the time, but when you don't score, it's magnified. "It doesn't change. There will always be some things that aren't as good as what you'd like. Sometimes you make plays and come out of it and feel good about it. In this case, those things kept us from getting touchdowns in those situations, and that was big." Quarterback Carson Palmer has thrown more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (14) since week three. The Bengals threw five deep passes Saturday but completed only one. "It's the same thing every week," Palmer said after the game. "You don't have 11 guys doing each of their jobs." Meanwhile, a defense that showed progress in the previous month was overrun by one of the worst offenses in the league. It does not bode well for this week: Browns running back Jamal Lewis has topped 180 yards three times against the Bengals, and he is coming off a 163-yard performance against Buffalo. In the Bengals' eyes, the curtain cannot fall on this season soon enough. Columbus Dispatch http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/bengals/stories/2007/12/18/bengals1218.ART_ART_12-18-07_C4_CJ8QDLE.html?sid=101 |
